Ambrosio v. Drummond
N15C-06-100 CLS
| Del. Super. Ct. | Jun 12, 2017Background
- Plaintiff Noemi Vazquez Ambrosio won a personal injury jury trial and moved for costs under Superior Court Rule 54 and 10 Del. C. §§ 5101, 8906, seeking $4,016.25.
- Requested costs included filing fees, mediation fee, and a $3,000 expert fee for live testimony by Dr. Bruce Grossinger.
- Defendants opposed, arguing the $3,000 expert fee was unsubstantiated and unreasonable because the invoice lacked an hourly breakdown for travel versus testimony.
- Court reviewed Delaware law governing awardable expert witness costs and the court’s discretion to fix expert fees.
- Dr. Grossinger testified for 43 minutes on the first day of trial; the submitted invoice simply sought $3,000 for live testimony without itemization.
- Court found costs appropriate generally but reduced the expert fee to $2,000 as reasonable given prior Delaware decisions and the brevity of testimony; total costs awarded were $3,016.25.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether plaintiff may recover expert witness fees requested ($3,000) | Grossinger is owed $3,000 for live testimony as invoiced | $3,000 is unsubstantiated and unreasonable; invoice lacks hourly/travel breakdown | Court awarded reduced expert fee of $2,000 because invoice failed to substantiate hourly rates and testimony was brief |
| Whether plaintiff provided adequate substantiation for expert costs | Invoice is sufficient to claim the fee requested | Burden is on prevailing party to justify costs with hourly rates and time spent | Court held plaintiff failed to substantiate; required itemization absent, so reduced award |
| Whether expert travel/time may be compensated at testifying rate | Implicitly argued fee covers testimony and related time | Objected that travel/time should be separately itemized and not billed at testifying hourly rate | Court followed Delaware guidance: travel and orientation not billable at testifying rate; used comparative precedents to set reasonable flat amount |
| Amount of recoverable taxable costs overall | Seeks full requested amount ($4,016.25) | Opposes portion for excessive expert fee | Court awarded filing fees and mediation ($1,016.25) plus $2,000 expert fee; total $3,016.25 |
Key Cases Cited
No key authorities cited in this opinion have official reporter citations; the court relied primarily on unpublished Superior Court decisions and statutory provisions for guidance.